THE BIG ISSUE 10 – 23 MAR 2017 37
HEARTWORMS
THE SHINS
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THE SHINS HAVE never been a “band”
in the traditional sense. Over the two
decades since the project first surfaced
out of Albuquerque, New Mexico, its
only constant has been James Mercer.
The support staff, on the other hand, are
always up for review. On Heartworms,
the fifth album from The Shins, there can
be no confusion about who’s in charge.
Mercer wrote every word on
Heartworms, but he’s also (with the
exception of one track) its sole producer.
There’s a neat circularity in that decision:
Mercer self-produced the first Shins
album, Oh, Inverted World, in 2001, and
he remains a believer in backing himself.
Instead of re-running the lo-fi aesthetic
of his debut, Heartworms draws on a
wider, livelier palette.
As the album jumps between gentle
folksy strumming, gleaming power-
pop hooks and new wave strut, it’s
clear Mercer is relishing his free rein
in the studio. For fans of Chutes Too
Narrow (2003), The Shins album that
sounded most like a band working
together, all this playfulness might feel
unfocused. There’s also the ever-present
risk of things turning a little too twee.
Crucially, though, the production on
Heartworms never stifles its main star:
Mercer’s bright, melodious voice.
Five years have passed since the
last Shins record, Port of Morrow, but
Mercer’s songwriting smarts remain
intact. Heartworms finds him entering
middle age with wistfulness and a
certain earnest optimism. His lyrics
have always measured plainspoken
language with poetic sweep – often right
alongside each other in a song – and
he’s still revelling in those contrasts.
A rich vein of nostalgia runs through
the album, whether it’s the sweetly
personal ‘Mildenhall’, which recalls
Mercer’s teenage years in England as
an Air Force brat consumed by “cheap
beer and rock’n’roll”, or the memory of
a long-ago drunken kiss on the giddy
‘Cherry Hearts’. We get The Shins in all
their poses, from the plaintive regrets
of ‘The Fear’ to the jaunty guitar pop
of ‘Dead Alive’. The binding quality
throughout is Mercer’s preternatural
talent for choruses that make you throw
an arm around your friend at the show.
‘So Now What’, produced by
sometimes band member Richard Swift,
is a standout on Heartworms. It’s a
quintessential Shins song, openhearted
and melodic, with Mercer’s voice giving
the line “I guess we just begin again” a
bittersweet shimmer. The Shins may
begin again with each new album, but
certain things never change.
by Jack Tregoning (@JackTregoning)
Heartworms is out now.
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SHINS KING: JAMES MERCER